Today I got to spend some time with one of my good friends who is home on Christmas break. I asked her a few questions about her money learning experience when she went off to school and I thought I would share some of that wisdom with you.

What was the most shocking thing about finances that you learned when you went to school?

“The most shocking thing I learned was that all of the little things, like makeup and new shoes and buying new jewelry all adds up. Because after you top relying on your parents you realize all the money you make has to go towards you well being. So you have to learn to save and budget.”

How did you learn to save and budget?

When I didn’t have any more money I realized it was necessary for me to budget in order to have food! I wrote down my necessities and put my income towards those things first. And I saved the extra money for the next month instead of spending it on useless things.

What was the most stupid thing you did with money when you left for school?

“I went out to eat all the time, I was in a new big city and I wanted to be social and focused more on the social side of college rather than my purpose of being there, to get an education.”

What advice/ what have you learned, other college students who have that same desire to be social while wanted to be wise with their money?

“I would say, use what you have, colleges provide opportunities for social events, theres always something going on in your student activity center, theres clubs to join, in your dorm theres activities. Those activities will save you money while giving you the same social experience that you want."

How watchful and aware are you of your current financial status? Are you taking advantage of anything your financial institution offers you to help manage your money?

“I am very aware. I use my financial institutions app to check what’s in my checking account all the time. Recently I have been trying to use cash instead of my card all the time. It helps me save more money that way.”

I’m sure a lot of you could relate to my friends perspective and personal experiences! I myself had that initial shock factor of, OH MY GOD, everything costs money!? I think one thing we can take away from this small interview is that we can all learn from our experiences and help each other out by sharing what we have learned on our journey to becoming better managers of our finances. A small step like downloading your financial institutions app and checking your accounts on a regular basis will help you more than you know!

If you are a member of Michigan First, you can download our app today!